http://www.buffzone.com/ci_13065313?source=most_viewed
This article could have been written today. Exchange some names and it makes perfect sense. Too bad it happened 3+ yrs ago :wow:
What a joke
:sad2::sad1:
Give Colorado football coach Dan Hawkins this much: If some of his
peers were asked, as Hawkins was Sunday night, whether they were
playing their best players, they would react with scowls and growls.
Hawkins absorbed the question in stride and answered patiently. He
said he could understand why a layman watching CU games this season
from the stands or the press box might be scratching his head when he
sees, for example, former walk-ons Cody Crawford and Nick Holz lined up
at wide receiver with players such as Blake Mackey, Dusty Sprague,
Alvin Barnett and Patrick Williams watching from the sidelines.
"We're definitely trying to play the best guys," Hawkins said. "Why
would we not?
"When you look at the best players, there is a lot that goes into
that. When you're building a championship football program, there are
certain things that have to go into that. You have certain standards
and all that.
"...It's not just about who is the fastest or who's the biggest or
who's the strongest. It's who, A, can execute and do all those things.
There are obviously little nuances all the time that happen in a
football game that people don't necessarily notice, but as coaches you
look at them. Why would we not want to do that? Why would we want to
have our worst players on the field? That doesn't make any sense."
Hawkins also said the Buffs are relying on a lot of walk-ons or
former walk-ons this season, in part out of necessity, based on the
state of the roster they inherited. Hawkins said he is five
scholarships down.
The Buffs are 0-6 and still looking for their first win under
Hawkins after a loss in triple overtime to the Baylor Bears on
Saturday. They have tied the program's record for the longest losing
streak at 10 consecutive games, and they have the third-longest active
losing streak in the country.
Hawkins has withheld playing time as a way to send a message to
underachievers and players who don't consistently bring the proper
level of intensity and toughness to practices.
He's not about to apologize for his philosophies or change a formula
that has proven to be successful at every stop in his coaching
career.
The problem here and now, however, is that his team can't
consistently pass the ball, and it is especially challenged to do so in
situations where opponents are expecting it.
The Buffs found themselves in just such a situation at the end of
the fourth quarter against Baylor. They had two timeouts, the ball on
their 23-yard line and Mason Crosby's leg needing only 29 yards to have
a legitimate shot at a winning field goal.
Hawkins went conservative and played for overtime, demonstrating a
lack of faith in his offense to get the job done. Part of that decision
is based on the inexperience of quarterback Bernard Jackson, and part
of it is based on a receiving corps that has been unable to
consistently make big plays or even produce a player who is consistent
from week to week.
Jackson spent the past three years riding the pine at CU before
earning the starting job in Week 2 this year. He knows a thing or two
about the frustration of watching from the sidelines when a player
believes he could be helping.
Jackson was also asked Sunday whether coaches are surrounding him
with his most talented offensive teammates.
"It's hard to say," Jackson said. "I think so, given the opportunity
we had this past week. It's every week we're in a position to make big
plays no matter who is in."
Mackey, a senior who led the Buffs in total reception yardage in the
2004 season and missed 2005 with a knee injury, hasn't caught a ball
yet this season. He said he is struggling to understand exactly what
more he can do to prove himself to Hawkins and wide receivers coach
Eric Kiesau.
"I'm not a quitter. I'm not going to do that. So there is only one
thing to do. Keep fighting and keep making plays in practice and
hopefully, I can do it in the game. Hopefully, I get a chance.
"They are the ones who decide who is the best, and it's their
opinion that matters I guess. My opinion probably doesn't matter I
guess in this situation because I'm not making the decisions, but I
definitely feel like I can help the team win. I definitely feel like I
can do some of the things I did before."
This article could have been written today. Exchange some names and it makes perfect sense. Too bad it happened 3+ yrs ago :wow:
What a joke
:sad2::sad1:Give Colorado football coach Dan Hawkins this much: If some of his
peers were asked, as Hawkins was Sunday night, whether they were
playing their best players, they would react with scowls and growls.
Hawkins absorbed the question in stride and answered patiently. He
said he could understand why a layman watching CU games this season
from the stands or the press box might be scratching his head when he
sees, for example, former walk-ons Cody Crawford and Nick Holz lined up
at wide receiver with players such as Blake Mackey, Dusty Sprague,
Alvin Barnett and Patrick Williams watching from the sidelines.
"We're definitely trying to play the best guys," Hawkins said. "Why
would we not?
"When you look at the best players, there is a lot that goes into
that. When you're building a championship football program, there are
certain things that have to go into that. You have certain standards
and all that.
"...It's not just about who is the fastest or who's the biggest or
who's the strongest. It's who, A, can execute and do all those things.
There are obviously little nuances all the time that happen in a
football game that people don't necessarily notice, but as coaches you
look at them. Why would we not want to do that? Why would we want to
have our worst players on the field? That doesn't make any sense."
Hawkins also said the Buffs are relying on a lot of walk-ons or
former walk-ons this season, in part out of necessity, based on the
state of the roster they inherited. Hawkins said he is five
scholarships down.
The Buffs are 0-6 and still looking for their first win under
Hawkins after a loss in triple overtime to the Baylor Bears on
Saturday. They have tied the program's record for the longest losing
streak at 10 consecutive games, and they have the third-longest active
losing streak in the country.
Hawkins has withheld playing time as a way to send a message to
underachievers and players who don't consistently bring the proper
level of intensity and toughness to practices.
He's not about to apologize for his philosophies or change a formula
that has proven to be successful at every stop in his coaching
career.
The problem here and now, however, is that his team can't
consistently pass the ball, and it is especially challenged to do so in
situations where opponents are expecting it.
The Buffs found themselves in just such a situation at the end of
the fourth quarter against Baylor. They had two timeouts, the ball on
their 23-yard line and Mason Crosby's leg needing only 29 yards to have
a legitimate shot at a winning field goal.
Hawkins went conservative and played for overtime, demonstrating a
lack of faith in his offense to get the job done. Part of that decision
is based on the inexperience of quarterback Bernard Jackson, and part
of it is based on a receiving corps that has been unable to
consistently make big plays or even produce a player who is consistent
from week to week.
Jackson spent the past three years riding the pine at CU before
earning the starting job in Week 2 this year. He knows a thing or two
about the frustration of watching from the sidelines when a player
believes he could be helping.
Jackson was also asked Sunday whether coaches are surrounding him
with his most talented offensive teammates.
"It's hard to say," Jackson said. "I think so, given the opportunity
we had this past week. It's every week we're in a position to make big
plays no matter who is in."
Mackey, a senior who led the Buffs in total reception yardage in the
2004 season and missed 2005 with a knee injury, hasn't caught a ball
yet this season. He said he is struggling to understand exactly what
more he can do to prove himself to Hawkins and wide receivers coach
Eric Kiesau.
"I'm not a quitter. I'm not going to do that. So there is only one
thing to do. Keep fighting and keep making plays in practice and
hopefully, I can do it in the game. Hopefully, I get a chance.
"They are the ones who decide who is the best, and it's their
opinion that matters I guess. My opinion probably doesn't matter I
guess in this situation because I'm not making the decisions, but I
definitely feel like I can help the team win. I definitely feel like I
can do some of the things I did before."
